Just a Gambler
by Mechconstrictor
Summary: Ethan talks Xander into buying another costume, that of a gambler.


Just a Gambler...  
Chapter 01- Never mess with a Pyrran

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with BtVS or DeathWorld. They are owned by their respective creators.

Summary: Ethan talks Xander into buying another costume, that of a gambler.

DW-DW-DW-DW

Ethan's Costume Shop

Smiling to himself, Ethan Rayne approached the young man he knew to be one of Rippers. The chaos he was going to cause tonight was going to be great, but to get another one of Rippers children was going to be even better. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you are having some problems choosing your costume. Perhaps I can be of some assistance. I'm Ethan, the owner of this shop."

Jumping slightly, Xander turned around with his hands up. "Whoa there, it isn't exactly the smartest thing to approach people from behind in this town."

"Sorry," Ethan said, not sounding very sorry at all. "Is there a certain theme you are looking for?"

Looking around the shop, Xander said, "I'm really looking for a rifle. I have some old fatigues back home and figure the rifle should finish the costume. Putting too much money into something that I was roped into is not my idea of fun."

Thinking that a plain soldier wouldn't be as much fun, he decided to offer something a little bit more interesting. After all, a soldier would try to restore order too soon. "I think a soldier is a little plain, don't you?"

"Like I said," Xander said, sighing. He really hated pushy salespersons. Always trying to make a sale. "I don't really want to spend too much money on something that I was forced into."

"I think that we can come up with something. It's not a full costume and you'll need to use some stuff you probably already have."

"I'm listening," Xander said. He figured that if he listened to this guy, he'd quit pushing.

"Unless you like older stuff, you probably haven't heard of him. This character is from a book that I read in my younger days," Ethan said, smiling fondly. "He was a bit of a gambler, adventurer, and gunfighter. He always loved a new challenge."

"I like the sound of him. What time period was he from? The old west?" Xander asked, thinking that it sounded kind of like Maverick.

Shaking his head, Ethan said, "He was from a bit further in the future than that. He also had minor psi abilities."

"You mean like Jean Grey?" Xander said, excited.

Confused, Ethan asked, "Who? I don't believe that I'm familiar with that character."

"It's from a comic. The character could read minds and move things with her mind."

"Ah," Ethan said in understanding. "While he had powers, they were not very developed. He mainly used them to influence the tables when he played games of chance. That was where he found the most excitement in the earlier part of his life. He was extremely fast on the draw with a gun."

"I'm really liking this character," Xander said, smiling.

Interrupting Xander's inner dreams, Ethan said, "Then you will love this part. All of that was before he went to the planet Pyrrus. His abilities and skills aided his survival where most others would have died. The very planet itself was hostile. Animal and plant life both were dangerous to the humans who lived there. And to top that, the gravity was heavier then Earth."

"Wouldn't that make it harder to move around," Xander asked. He didn't know a lot about science but he did know a little bit.

Nodding, Ethan confirmed that it would make it harder to move.

"Then wouldn't that be a hinderance?"

"He spent enough time there to adapt," Ethan said. "His body grew stronger and faster after spending several years there. And his skills with a gun only grew."

"I'll take it," Xander said. "By the way, what is his name?"

"His name is..."

DW-DW-DW-DW

Halloween

Standing in the middle of the street, the man shook his head. The last thing he remembered was telling Meta that he was heading to bed and now he was standing in the middle of a street of a primitive planet. Patting himself down, he found that the only weapon he had was his gun attached to its power holster on his arm. He had been stranded with less before.

"When Meta finds me, she'll never let me leave the compound again," Xander muttered. "And I don't even want to hear what Kerk will say to me."

"Xander, over here," a voice called from his left.

Turning, he saw a girl running towards him. If he was a free man and younger, he would ask her if she was free for dinner. But expressing any interest in any female would not be good for their health. Meta might destroy the entire town to prove her claim to him. Sometimes her jealousy was cute and other times it was kind of scary, very scary. "I'm sorry miss. My name is not this Xander. It's Jason. Jason dinAlt."

"Stop playing around, Xander. We don't have time," she said, panicking. "It's me Willow, your friend. I've gone all ghosty. And the kids, they are monsters now."

"I assure you miss," Jason said, looking around. "I'm not this Xander you speak of. I don't even know what planet I'm on. It's Earth-like at least."

"Planet," Willow asked. "Oh no, not you to. Listen, your name is Xander Harris. Your my best friend and you've become your Halloween costume."

"Halloween," Jason stated, "That's a holiday of some sort from Earth, right?"

"We are on Earth," she stressed. "Everything has changed tonight. It's some type of magic. We need to find Buffy, she'll know what to do."

Looking at her in disbelief, "Yeah, magic. Next thing you'll be telling me is that you're an alien." Seeing some type of creature approaching, he went to grab her arm when his hand went through it. "Or some type of hologram."

Seeing that he was the only one in danger at the moment, he tuned out the hologram and threw his hand out with his gun appearing in. Taking in the charging creature, he couldn't spot a weak point that would guarantee a instant kill. Aiming at it left knee joint, he fired.

The creature toppled over when it was not able to support its own weight. "Still the best," he said, smiling as his gun retracted back into its launcher.

"Those are kids," Willow screamed. "They were changed just like us. You can't hurt them."

"Still don't know what you are talking about," he said as he started to walk away. "I've got to find a communicator that can reach Meta or Kerk."

"Buffy will know what to do," Willow said as she ran in the direction Buffy was last at.

DW-DW-DW-DW

Willy's

As he walked around the town looking for some way to call for help, he came across a seedy bar that reminded him of the places he frequented when he was younger. Walking in, he was surprised by the clientele. He was used to seeing some strange people but these were by far the strangest beings that he had ever come across.

"Kid, you really don't want to be in here," the bartender said. He recognized one of the slayers friends and didn't want her coming in here to tear the place up when the boy ended up dead.

"I'll be fine," Jason said, looking around. It had been a while since he was in a place like this but he didn't think it would be too bad. You had to treat the people a certain way and they would leave you alone. Rummaging around his pockets, he found some odd money. He could swear that he'd seen it before in some book. Everything about this place was strange. The machinery was centuries behind what a planet this populated should have access to. "Could you tell me what this currency is worth?"

"Why," Willy asked, scratching his head. Maybe the kid had been hit too many times already.

"I want to join that game over there," Jason said, pointing towards the craps table in the corner.

Shrugging, Willy showed him what each bill was worth and sent him on his way. Maybe his clients would prefer to take the kids money instead of his life tonight.

Walking over to the table, he observed the game to get a feel for it. After he had the basics of the game down, he laid down his money.

DW-DW-DW-DW

Two Hours Later

"Damn, dinAlt," one of the so-called demons said. "You are a fast learner. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were using magic."

Shaking his head, Jason used his powers once more to affect the roll of the dice. He was pretty sure that he was on some backward planet where the several native lifeforms had just gained sentience and a few looked like humans for the most part. That or aliens placed humans here for some reason. Either way, he was walking out of here with a pile of money. He wasn't that concerned about the natives. They had gambling afterall, so they couldn't be that bad.

"Well, look what we have here boys," a voice said from a few feet away. "It's the slayers lapdog off his leash."

Ignoring the man that Kerk would have killed just on general principal, he returned to his game.

"You hear me whelp," the voice yelled. "No one ignores me. I'm Spike, you're supposed to be running in fear of me and begging for you life when I catch you. I'm the most dangerous person you will ever have the honor of meeting."

"I doubt that," Jason said, rolling the dice. "My mate could kill you with her pinky. She isn't someone you would want to cross."

"Your precious slayer isn't here to save you," Spike laughed as he lead his gang forward. And Drusilla said to stay in tonight. She tended to be right with her visions, but come on. Those who walk the world with death will come tonight. That's even a bit far fetched for him. He was death.

"Well, I've never been called that before," a female voice came from the door.

Looking up from the table, Jason saw a woman who was dressed and sounded like his mate but was different at the same time. She was taller and a few years younger. Not to mention that her hair was longer then she normally kept it. But there was no mistaking that attitude. She took threats to him very serious no matter how many times he told her he wasn't that fragile. She would always smile and not say a word when he did.

"You look different, Jason," Meta said, as she walked further into the bar with her gun drawn. He couldn't count the times they were forced to leave a place whenever they left Pyrrus because of her pulling that gun.

"You do to," he said adoringly, his eyes never leaving the table. "You're hair is longer and darker for one thing and you are taller."

"I noticed," she said as she adjusted her aim on the man who called himself Spike.

Getting angry that he was being annoyed, Spike yelled, "Hey, I'm here to kill the whelp and then you."

"That was a bad idea," Jason said.

"What? Threatening to kill her?" Spike asked, confused. People tended to be afraid at this point and start running.

"No," Jason said, smiling as he won another round. He was feeling pretty good with his powers right now and figure why waste a good winning spree. He never knew when they would give out. "Threatening to kill me while she was in the same room. She's the most dangerous person here at the moment. Native Pyrrans are the most dangerous people in the galaxy. I've only lived there for a few years and will admit that even a Pyrran child could give me a good run in a fair fight. But I don't fight fair and neither do the Pyrrans."

"What," Spike started to say when he was suddenly grabbed by his jacket and slammed into the wall. Looking down, he saw the woman. "How did you get over here so fast?"

"You threatened my mate," she said. "I should make you suffer for that but I don't have the time. I'll just kill you instead."

Fearing for his life, Spike yelled, "Kill her!"

Seeing the approaching gang, she threw Spike into them, resulting in a pile of bodies tumbling to the ground. Just as she was about to start towards them, she was stopped.

"Happy dear," Jason said, standing up with his winnings. Guiding her gently away from what would otherwise become a bloodbath, he said, "I think we should leave these people alone and head back to the ship."

"Ship," she asked. "I was hoping you had a ship. Your tracking signal was the only one I pick up though."

Stopping his stride, he turned to her, "You didn't come to rescue me on a ship? How did you get here then."

"I just woke up in a strange place," she admitted. "I was outside some primitive dwelling that would not provide any protection at all."

"Just as I did," he replied while thinking that nothing short of a fully manned fortress would be adequate. "Maybe that hologram was on to something earlier, she..."

"She," Meta asked, too sweetly. It seemed she completely ignored the hologram part and as always, focused on the she part. "Where might I find this she at. I wish to...thank her for helping you."

"Let's go find a safe place to think," he said, trying to get her to forget the tortures she was most likely dreaming of that she could do to the holographic girl.

DW-DW-DW-DW

The Next Morning

Xander opened his eyes to find that he was sleeping on the roof of a warehouse. There was a lot of dust up here. Almost as if...

Stopping that thought, he began to count the, now obvious, dust piles that surrounded him. He lost count at forty.

"Stop moving," a voice muttered from next to him. "It's cold."

He knew that he didn't go sleep on a roof last night. And he knew that he didn't fall asleep with someone else. Lifting the silver, lightweight blanket, his heart nearly stopped at what he saw. Long, dark hair covering a face he knew well. One of Cordelia's followers. Gwen Ditchik

She chose that exact moment to wake up, "Xander? Xander Harris? What are we doing up here?" Everything that had happened the night before returned to her in a rush. "Did that really happen last night?"

"You remember," Xander asked.

"Remember," she said, picking up a pipe. "I feel as if I could bend this..."

He looked up to she why she had stopped talking when he saw that she was bending the pipe with ease. Easier then Buffy in fact.

"It must be an old pipe," she said, trying to rationalize it.

"Yeah," he said. "Try another one. This one looks good."

He was shocked when the pipe started to bend when he tested it. Not as fast or easy as when Gwen did it, but it still bent. Thinking back on the memories of Jason, it would be a while before the injections he received would allow him the same strength as a weak, native Pyrran. If there was such a thing.

Wondering if anything else changed, he withdrew some dice from his pocket and let them drop. Concentrating with his mind, he was able to make the dice land how he wanted. Not as easy as it was last night but he remembered that Jason's power level differed day by day with it almost none existent sometimes.

"You still have the powers," Gwen said. "Cool. I just have this freaky level of strength."

"A level of strength that is above mine," he said. "At the moment, my strength is below yours by a large margin. I'm about the level of a slayer, maybe a little higher right now."

"What is a slayer," Gwen asked.

"I'll get into that later," he said. "From what I remember, Jason received an experimental injection that would allow him to come close to a healthy, adult Pyrran. He still had a week or two before everything evened out. If the powers stayed, there is a chance that I still may gain some increased strength and speed. Maybe one or the other. But there is no point in worrying over that at the moment."

"Hey, I wonder if this still works," Gwen said.

Looking up to ask what she was talking about, he saw her raising her had in a manner that his memories from Jason told him was a bad thing to do when he was in front of her.

"I think you might want to hold on that," he said as he stop her from completing the motion that would launch the gun into her and possibly fire it at him if it was still real.

"Yeah, might be a good idea," she said with a look in her eyes that said she really wanted to test it out.

"I think we need to go see Giles," Xander said, getting up. "Right now. He'll know what's going on. And stop by a used book store and see if they have the book our characters came from. Buffy and Willow can help research."

"Buffy and Willow," Gwen said with a look in her eye. "I think I want to have a little chat with them."

Remembering what Meta considered a little chat with females who he talked with, he thought it prudent that the girls not join this meeting.

"I think we should only involve Giles for the time being," he said.

End Chapter 01

AN: Okay, I'm not too sure on where I will be taking this. I might write five to ten more chapters or only one. It is just one of the many ideas I'v had for stories.


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